But when I’m ready to branch out and make it more like a membership site, I can do that too.

MM is compatible with BuddyPress (WordPress’ free forum software). So I can even offer a customer-only forum if I want down the line.

Why So Long?

I waited a long time to sell from WordPress because of indecision about the plugin choice, video hosting, etc.

It’s hella intimidating when you’ve never done this before, but not so bad once you just make the decision to jump in and learn.

Another reason I chose MM is they are involved in the backend during the purchasing process. (Every order hits their server before hitting PayPal, Stripe, etc.)

So I always have another party involved and I need that.

I wanted the comfort of solid support, and I have already put them to the test several times! So far they’ve responded within an hour or so.

I even spoke to the founder, Eric, on the phone because my plugin didn’t install with all the tables for some some odd reason. Eric logged in with a temp account I setup and fixed me right up.

You know how some companies are very responsive before you become a customer, but get lax with support once you sign up?

Yeah, well… I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen. Let’s hope support stays top notch.

I’m Testing Like Craaaazy!

MM has a convenient testing platform with pre-populated test data that lets me run through the entire order process without using test/sandbox payment info from PayPal, Stripe, etc.

So I can quickly speed through (view confirmation page, test coupon codes, welcome emails, etc.) from start to finish.

I can even login as the customer with one click to see what pages/courses they can access (or can’t).

Being able to test all this with such great detail before going live gives me tremendous comfort. I’ve probably run close to 100 tests in the last month.

You Have Options!

Many people today are gravitating more toward turnkey, 3rd party course platforms (Teachable, Udemy etc.)

I totally understand why. These methods are certainly easier to setup, and the options we have online continue to grow.

That’s a good thing and a testament to how the e-learning space is growing. But at the same time, choosing a platform is becoming more overwhelming for newbies.

What’s great about selling courses or videos online is you can choose a setup that costs you virtually nothing at all (Udemy, GumRoad, for example) or spend hundreds per year on a more advanced setup (Ruzuku).

It really depends on what you want to invest in and how simple/complex you want to go.

For my setup, it’s costing about $33/month.

That includes…

Hosting video files with Vimeo (I can protect videos so they can only be viewed/embedded on my site. YouTube video files cannot be protected at this level.)

WP CourseWare plugin (A course plugin is optional and I’m configuring my site so I can remove it without much hassle if I choose.)

The selection process can be intimidating if you’ve never done this before, and I am going to break everything down to provide tremendous clarity.

Change can be paralyzing, and as a result, you end up doing nothing.

Yep! Been there.

My mission is to pull you out of that phase by breaking down the info into delicious, bite-size chunks of info. 🙂

You may not want a setup as advanced as mine, and thankfully there are many other options. The course will cover those too.

That’s why I’m taking my time with this and really learning about all options, so I can offer a very thorough course for newbies.

I’m Being More Strategic

Another strategy I’m using that I didn’t use here is to start with a 101/intro course to upsell future courses — as opposed to offering random courses on various topics that aren’t necessarily related.

And to pique interest in the course, I’m putting together a free, color-coded PDF that summarizes the key features of popular options for selling videos and courses online.

This will be my lead magnet to help grow my email list.

I will be using Convert Kit (not an affiliate because I haven’t used it). This is going to pull anyone interested on this site over to the new list.

Then the magic happens… 🙂

From there, I can segment the list how I want. For example…

I might even include an option that says…

I’m not interested in selling courses at all. I just signed up to be nosy. Ha! 🙂

That way I can delete people from the list who are just signing up out of curiosity.

Hi Lisa,
It was really a awesome post, selling videos and memberships is a great idea, it boosts our business a lot, and i liked the quote you have mentioned, crawl before you walk, really we have to start with little steps and then hop in, thank you for sharing this article.

This is down to Earth talk for affiliate marketing success. Most affiliates don’t understand the concept of crawling before walking, because some think it’s easier said to push a button and think they’re going to amass millions online in a matter of months. Things don’t work like that. In fact, affiliate marketers have to work harder at making money online vs. ppl who work 9 to 5 day jobs because affiliates don’t get pension and social security from this line of work. An affiliate-internet marketer have to create their own everything “healthcare, future savings, in-house fiscal and monetary financial plan,” and so on.

I love your posts and you’ve been an inspiration to me on my journey to build a personal blog – which I’m just about to launch.

I also work for a company that has several sites and I was involved when we recently built a membership site. I don’t do the technical stuff at work but have learnt a ‘hella’ lot from being around the guys that do.

The membership set up they went with is called DAP – Digital Access Pass.

I know that it took a while to set up and wasn’t that intuitive – and I also know the guys here got a lot of good support from the provider. It looks like overkill for any simple membership needs I’ll have in the immediate future on my own site but I though nit’s worth mentioning as you’d compared other options.

Oh, and I’m using Thrive on my new site too. I git the whole suite which they use at work on some sites and they love it.

Yeah MemberMouse is also monthly but I don’t actually mind paying a recurring fee because typically the developers keep reinvesting and upgrading the product more often. So that can be a good thing but I do know that scares people off. I’m usually one who prefers a one-time fee product myself, but MM had what I wanted.

First off, I haven’t heard the expression “hella” since my time growing up in Northern Cali. You’re not from there, are you? I think it’s a thing that we think we have a patent on the term. I didn’t think anyone that grew up outside of Northern Cali had ever even heard it. 🙂

Ok, sticking to the topic at hand. If I’m signed up to your email list, will I get a copy of your free eBook about MemberMouse? Or is there something else I need to do to get it?

Thanks, Lisa! I’m looking forward to following more of your journey and learning what I can along the way.

LOL! Really? No, I didn’t grow up there. It was a very common term in St. Louis as well. I still hear lots of people use it. 🙂

Yes, what I will do is send an email to everyone on this list and if you are interested in the new information then you have to sign up for the list on the new site. I will be sending out an invitation to those on this list. So stay tuned!

You learn something new every day. 🙂 It’s funny because that’s one way that people can sometimes tell the difference between a Northern Cali person and a Southern Cali person. That one expression. I’m going to have to break their minds next time I’m there and let them know that the expression is used elsewhere as well. LOL 🙂

I’m elsewhere now, so I don’t hear it anymore.

Sounds good, Lisa, with the email list dealio and all! 🙂 I’m kind of in a change of pace phase, too, so it’s cool to be tracking with your frequency here. I feel like its sort of a pointer to me that I just might be heading in the right direction. You really do have to keep up with the times and change things up when something isn’t working. So is the way with life, why wouldn’t it be with our businesses as well?

I love your boldness. When you want to do something, even if you don’t understand it 100%, you take a leap of faith and go for it. I have finally adopted that approach with some ideas I have to make money on line – which involves teaching through videos, so your lessons will really come in handy for me. My first leap of faith is to begin selling my first eBook online. I am in the process of purchasing my cover, and once that is completed, I’m going to upload it and begin marketing it. I’m saying this because it took me a long time to get my nerve up to take the first step. Thanks for being an example of showing the significance of taking a leap, even if you don’t understand everything right away.

Great post, Lisa, and thanks for sharing your steps along the way. I listened to your podcast about why you were moving away from Udemy and why you wanted to host your courses and have more control. I totally understand but not sure I am up for the learning curve as I seem to always be in a learning curve with just about everything. Ha. I am looking at teachable and teacheary right now. Do you know if there is much difference between them and Udemy? Thank you. Keep pressing on!

Yes there is a big difference. Udemy is free and COMPLETELY remotely hosted – meaning they handle everything from hosting your video, collecting your payments, etc. BUT there are limitations to what you can charge (this is new). Teachable and Teachery have no price limits but they cost you a monthly fee.

Lisa,
I love how authentic you are. Please DON’T change!!
I learn things from you that most people in your position wont share off the bat– Maybe because they are building up for more courses to sell to their subscriber list.
However, I just appreciate your willingness to just put it all out there. Good bad & the UGLY girl.
Just stay true girl, and I am POSITIVE you will continue to GROW.
Thanks very much GF. BTW are you following me on twitter? If not, please do, I will support there as well. I’m pretty sure I’ve been following you. If you tweet something you want to spread around, make sure you just @ me, and I’ll know what to do with it. Like, re-tweet, or whatever. Girrrl I ONLY support the most authentic! You fit that bill 10 fold.

Just followed you! There is nothing more important to me than maintaining that authenticity and integrity. It has taken me far out here so I will never lose that. You don’t know how much this means to me so thank you for all your support.

I have followed you for many years and have always loved your content and the information you share. I think this is a great transition! It appears you have your finger on the pulse of where things are going and you’re doing a great job mapping it all out.

Thanks for sharing with us your plans for the new site and the software you will be using, MemberMouse. I think your strategy is spot-on and will allow you to scale things up.

I am really looking forward to following you on this journey, learning how to create and offer e-courses on my own site, and applying what you teach because it’s a business model I’ve been considering for a couple of years.

I am a “newbie” still wet behind the ears, but have an intense drive to learn as many new things as possible. So, I purchased a course with Udemy and got to it. Sadly, 4 steps into it, the 5th step couldn’t be done because of some server change or removal from one program and put into another hosting site.

I contacted the person who created the course and got a response of; “Oh yeah, sorry about that, this is how you have to do it now . . .” The change was virtually impossible for me to do so I threw my hands up, defeated and more confused than I was before. I’m sincerely hoping I can choose one of your courses and not feel overwhelmed or expecting a oops. sorry about that.

I really need to do this, any suggestions, I’m all ears! Thanks for listening to my rant, but I really am looking forward to learning from you.

I’m one of those nosy looky-loos that you would probably delete. But there is the thing: your site has always been about teaching and I get so much value, even if I don’t want to do all the things you do.

You taught me about products and services that I have used. So, rather than clutter up your list, what is my best option for “auditing” your course?

As always, congratulations on attaining this next level of authority and content creation!

I may not actually do that last option. LOL I will probably go more by who opens the emails over time. I think that’s a better gauge of how who is interested or not. You’ll be able to see exactly how my course/site is setup through the ebook I give away. Member Mouse also allows a free trial. So perhaps I can offer a short free trial as well. That’s certainly an option too.

The Hello Theme by Genesis, but it’s going to be moderately customized from the demo. I definitely wanted something with a pic on the front for personalization and I like the front-page layout for opt-ins, etc.

Lisa, you are the first person that I started following 3 years ago when I became interested in setting up a website. I love how you are REAL and talk about the realistic things that we all struggle with. I have learned so much from you and will continue to follow your endeavors and learn more. I have taken all of your courses and am looking forward to seeing your new courses and your new site. Thank you for all that you share with us!